Entering his senior season at Pitt, All-America candidate Sam Young is a talented, creative scorer and rebounder who possesses an umatched desire to improve. A 2007-08 All-Big East First Team selection and Big East Most Improved Player award winner, Young continues to amaze fans with his spectacular highlight-reel dunks, logic-defying rebounds and surprising blind-side blocks. A slashing power forward, Young takes advantage of his quickness to score against taller players in the post and utilizes his size and trademark pump fake move to create space on the outside. He is unbelievably athletic, plays good defense and rebounds with aggression. A hard working gym rat, Young continues to add new elements to his game each year. His hobby is improving his game. Prior to his junior year, he worked on his outside jumper then went out and hit 50 percent of his 3-point attempts. The previous season, he worked hard to improve his perimeter ball-handling. This past summer Young attended several NBA camps. Look for Young to put it all together in 2008-09.

CAREER

Played in 107 career games with 42 starts...Has played in 107 consecutive games with starts in each of the last 37 contests...Became the 35th player in school history to score over 1,000 career points...Reached double figure scoring in 44 of his last 48 games played...Six career double-doubles.

2007-08

Associated Press All-America honorable mention selection...Wooden Award finalist...Naismith Award finalist...Named to the USBWA All-District 1 Team...Selected to the NABC All-District 2 First Team...Big East Most Improved Player Award recipient...Became the fifth Pitt player in the last nine years to win Big East Most Improved Player Award honors...All-Big East First Team selection, becoming just the seventh player in school history to earn such an honor...Ranked among Big East Conference leaders in scoring (3rd), field goal percentage (10th), offensive rebounding (14th) and minutes played (18th)...Big East Tournament Most Outstanding Player Award winner after averaging 20.0 points (31-63 FG), 7.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in four games. Ended the tournament just one point shy of the Big East Tournament scoring record (80 points)...Earned Pitt's Most Valuable Player Award at team banquet...Set the school's single season records for scoring (668 points) and double figure scoring games (36)...Started all 37 contests at power forward...Four double-doubles on year...Scored over 20 points in 15 games on year...Reached double figure scoring in 36 of Pitt's 37 games and double figure rebounding in four contests...Finished with 15 points and four blocked shots in NCAA Tournament Second Round game vs. Michigan State, 3/22...Scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds in the Big East Championship Final vs. Georgetown, 3/15...Led Pitt with 22 points (9-14 FG) in BEC Semifinal game vs. Marquette, 3/14...Registered sixth career double-double (21 points/12 rebounds) along with four assists and three steals in BEC Quarterfinal vs. Louisville, 3/13...Scored 21 points with four blocks vs. Cincinnati, 3/12...Finished with 19 points (7-13 FG), hit 3-4 3FG and grabbed five rebounds vs. DePaul, 3/9...Made key steal and assist, scored 19 points with five rebounds at Syracuse, 3/1...Scored 20 points (8-13 FG), finished with a career-high five steals vs. Cincinnati, 2/27...Finished with 20 points (8-15 FG), seven rebounds and a career-high five assists vs. Louisville, 2/24...Scored 20 points, grabbed eight rebounds at Notre Dame, 2/21...Led Pitt with 18 points (8-16 FG) at Marquette, 2/15...Scored 22 points (10-14) with seven rebounds vs. Providence, 2/12...Finished with a team-high 18 points (7-21 FG) at Connecticut, 2/2...Scored a team-high 26 points (10-17 FG), hit 3-6 3-pointers, grabbed four rebounds and finished with three assists at St. John's, 1/23...Scored a game-high 24 points (9-20 FG) at Cincinnati, 1/19...Led Pitt with a career-high 28 points (9-16 FG), hit a career-high 4-4 3-pointers and grabbed eight rebounds vs. Seton Hall, 1/12...Led Pitt with 22 points (9-13 FG) at South Florida, 1/9...Hit several key shots down the stretch, scored 17 points (7-16 FG) with seven rebounds vs. Duke, 12/20...Finished with a game-high 23 points (7-14 FG) and 3-5 on 3-pointers including 16 in the second half and five rebounds at Duquesne, 12/5...Registered third double-double of the year with 17 points (7-14 FG) and a career-high tying 12 rebounds vs. Toledo, 12/1...Scored 20 points (8-11 FG) with eight rebounds, four steals and three blocks vs. Buffalo, 11/23...Named the Big East Player of the Week (Nov. 19) after averaging 18.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and shooting 65.2 percent (30-46) from the floor...Led Pitt with his fourth career double-double (17 points, 6-9 FG) and a career-high tying 12 rebounds vs. Mississippi Valley State, 11/15...Earned Hispanic College Fund Challenge Tournament Most Valuable Player honors after he averaged 19.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, shot .649 (24-37) from the floor, and .556 (5-9) from 3-point range in the three contests...Finished with his third career double-double performance with a career-high 24 points and 11 rebounds and set or tied career-highs for points (24), field goals made (10), 3-pointers made (4) steals vs. North Carolina A&T, 11/10...Scored 22 points (10-15 FG) with nine rebounds in 22 minutes of season opener vs. Houston Baptist, 11/9.

2006-07

Played in all 37 games...Earned Most Improved Player Award at team banquet...Reached double figures in 16 games on year including eight of the season's last 11 contests...Averaged 12.3 points and 4.3 rebounds in Pitt's three NCAA Tournament games...Scored a team-high 15 points (4-9 FG), hit 7-12 free throws in NCAA First Round vs. VCU, 3/17...Averaged 10.7 points and 3.0 rebounds per game over three Big East Championship games...Scored 17 points (5-6 FG), hit 7-10 free throws in BEC Quarterfinal vs. Marquette, 3/8...Scored 11 points (4-11 FG), hit two 3-pointers, grabbed a season-high eight rebounds (five offensive) at Georgetown, 2/24...Finished with 11 points (5-10 FG), with two 3-point plays, a highlight reel tomahawk dunk off a steal and four rebounds in first start of season at Seton Hall, 2/19...Scored a career-high 21 points, surpassed career-highs for field goals made (10) and field goal attempts and grabbed seven rebounds in 31 minutes at West Virginia, 2/7...Scored a team-high and career-high 18 points (7-10 FG) and grabbed four rebounds in 19 minutes vs. Dayton, 12/23.

2005-06

Named to the Big East All-Rookie Team...Played in all 33 games with three starts...Ranked second on team in field goal percentage (.521, 98-188), third in rebounding (4.4 rpg.) and averaged 7.9 points per game...Reached double figure scoring in 12 games on year...Scored 12 points (5-7 FG) off the bench in NCAA Tournament First Round vs. Kent State, 3/17...Started in three of Pitt's four Big East Tournament games...Notched second career double-double with 14 points (7-8 FG) and 11 rebounds in 32 minutes of first career start in Big East Quarterfinal vs. West Virginia, 3/9...Led Pitt with 12 points, hit 6-6 field goals and grabbed six rebounds in 23 minutes at West Virginia, 2/29...Scored nine points and grabbed five rebounds at Marquette, 2/18...Scored 10 points (3-6 FG), hit 4-6 free throws in 24 minutes vs. West Virginia, 2/9...Scored 10 points (4-9 FG) in 19 minutes at Connecticut, 1/31...Tied a then career-high with 12 points and converted 5-6 free throws vs. Rutgers, 1/18...Registered fourth straight double figure scoring game with 10 points vs. DePaul, 1/12...Registered first career double-double with 15 points, a career-high 12 rebounds and played in a then career-high 30 minutes vs. Notre Dame, 1/4...Scored a career-high tying 16 points (7-11 FG) with five rebounds vs. Wisconsin, 12/31...Scored a career-high tying 16 points and grabbed a career-high seven rebounds (six offensive), hit 5-8 shots and 5-6 free throws at South Carolina, 12/28...Earned Big East Rookie of the Week Award for the week of Dec. 26, 2005 after averaging 16.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and shooting 63.2 percent from the floor (12-19)...Scored 11 points (5-9 FG), drove to the basket and scored on a reverse dunk vs. Penn State, 12/10...Played 20 minutes, scored 14 points and registered one steal vs. Robert Morris, 11/23...Recorded five rebounds during his career debut vs. Saint Peter's, 11/19.

PRIOR TO PITTSBURGH

Played the 2004-05 season at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va., for Head Coach Kevin Keatts...Named the National Prep School Player of the Year by Scout.com...Earned First Team Prep School All-America honors by Scout.com...Averaged 23 points and 11 rebounds per game for Hargrave...Led Hargrave to a No. 2 national ranking with a 28-1 overall record, the lone loss coming to No. 1 ranked Laurinburg Prep...Scored 19 points vs. No. 1 ranked Laurinburg Prep...Ranked the nation's No. 71 recruit by Rivals.com...Named one of the nation's five best fifth-year players by HoopScoop.com...One of seven Hargrave players to sign an NCAA Division I National-Letter-of-Intent in 2004-05...Hargrave has produced a number of NBA and NCAA Division I basketball players, including at least 30 players currently competing at NCAA Division I.

HIGH SCHOOL

Attended Friendly High School in Fort Washington, Md., where he lettered three seasons for Head Coach Gerald Moore, Jr....Led Friendly to two state titles (2003-Class 2A and 2004-Class 3A)...Averaged 24.6 points, 14.0 rebounds, six blocks per game and scored at least 16 points in all but one game for the Patriots as a senior...Named First Team All-MET by the Washington Post...Also named all-county as a senior...Led Patriots to a 25-2 record and Class 3A state title with an 84-58 win over Chopticon H.S. as a senior...Scored game-winning basket off an offensive rebound to defeat Oxon Hill 78-76 in the closing seconds of the Prince Georges County title game...Led Friendly to a 25-1 record and Class 2A state title as a junior...Named to the Washington Post All-Met team and all county squad as a junior...Voted one of the top-10 most outstanding players at the Las Vegas Showcase during the summer of 2004.

PERSONAL

Born Samuel David Young on June 1, 1985 in Washington, D.C....Son of Marquet Craig...Has a brother, Michael Spriggs...Spriggs, who is blind, serves as Young's inspiration and motivation...Spriggs competes in both wrestling and judo...Prior to his senior season at Friendly High School, promised to do back flips if his team won the state title, then held true on his promise after he led the team to the championship...Chose Pitt because of its basketball program and city...Favorite home-cooked meal is sweet potatoes...What he likes most about the city of Pittsburgh: the energy of the people...Best friend on another team is South Florida's Chris Howard...Chose Pitt over Georgia, Maryland, Georgetown, Virginia Tech and Miami...Majors in communications.